TV Adaptation Review: The Ice Cream Girls ending

*Contains spoilers…you have been warned*

Following on from the conclusion of the ITV drama on Friday night I just wanted to post a short update following my earlier book review. It’s also a little vent of frustration of perfectly good endings being changed to an ending that isn’t any better.

If I hadn’t have already read the book in anticipation of the TV programme then I might have enjoyed it more, but I found myself sitting waiting for scenes to happen that didn’t and was confused at other elements of the plot.

The differences I noticed firstly was that Serena is missing a sister and a son and also that the family were in Brighton for her mother’s illness. This isn’t part of the book.

Amongst others another big difference is Poppy’s relationship with her father. In the book, they idolise each other until Poppy is convicted but the TV drama shows Poppy with a step-father and they obviously don’t get on. These changes I could accept but the ending…what were they thinking? The book has a very strong ending that I didn’t see coming until it happened with Marcus’ ex-wife Marlene delivering the final stabbings after both Poppy and Serena have left the house. Neither girl in the book ever discovering what really happened. Making it a very dramatic but sad ending.

I thought that the TV adaptation was less hard hitting than the book. The book highlights quite strongly domestic violence and the predatory nature of abusers. I didn’t get this coming through so much, it was a bit softly softly.

It also appears that the author of the book, Dorothy Koomson, wasn’t all that impressed with the adaptation either but seems to have had little say in the changes. Read her blog post on her website The Two ‘Ice Cream Girls’.

5 Comments

I completely agree! I did enjoy the drama (up until the end) but every now and again I did find myself sitting there thinking, ‘hang on, that’s not the same as the book?’. Like you said, if I hadn’t read the book I probably would have found it more enjoyable and It does frustrate me when shows change significant parts of the book x

Thank you so much for letting me know who the real killer was. I watched the series and before the last episode found out that it was based on a book. After the series I looked for the book and found that the producers changed the ending. I wanted to know who the actual killer was. Thank you!!

I read (and loved) The Ice Cream GIrls before my blogging days began Lindsay. I’ve been out of the loop lately and didn’t know the TV adaptation had aired 🙁 however, it sounds as if I would have been just as confused as you!

Thank you for linking #TalkoftheTown

ps I’m currently reading When I Was Invisible and enjoying the format and plotline.

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